The Gender Revolution — by Patricia Weerakoon with Rob Smith and Kamal Weerakoon

Coming soon from Matthias Media:

“How can you show love to someone who feels that their gender identity does not match how God made them—especially amid loud social messaging that says compassion and disagreement are incompatible? How do we keep the conversation grounded in reality? How do we lead others away from the harmful desire to transform their body into something it can never truly be? Why would hearing an explanation of God’s design for our bodies and his guidance for sexual expression be good for them, and how could you possibly begin that conversation?

Transgender ideology has quickly become pervasive in our broader culture, and many Christians prefer to avoid issues of sex and gender altogether. But if we’re not prepared in advance to show care and compassion to people questioning their gender identity or declaring a new one, we are unlikely to do it well when the moment arrives (as it inevitably will).

The Gender Revolution provides the biblical basis for a contemporary Christian response to the complicated feelings and experiences of gender dysphoria. Grounded in the latest scientific findings, this much-needed book is the fruit of decades of thorough research, medical practice and pastoral experience from the authors. It offers clear and compelling reasons for why God’s voice matters, and how it can be used to disciple others in truth.”

– Learn more at Matthias Media. “Available for pre-order; buy now and receive your copy July 2023.”

News and prayer updates from George Whitefield College, May 2023

The May 2023 newsletter for George Whitefield College in Cape Town is now up on their website.

A great reminder to pray for Africa.

As GWC Principal Dr. Mark Dickson reminds us,

“What Africa needs now are preachers, teachers and leaders who can tell the continent accurately about Jesus.”

– Download the PDF file here.

 

Also on the GWC website is a tribute to Bishop Joe Bell, former Presiding Bishop of the Church of England in South Africa (now REACH-SA). The tribute was written, we understand, by Dr. Mark Norman at GWC.

Bishop Bell was Presiding Bishop 1989-2000, succeeding Bishop Dudley Foord and preceding Bishop Frank Retief.

There’ll be a Memorial Service for Bishop Bell on Monday 29 May 2023 – streamed live at 19:00AEST.

Everyone a Child Should Know

“Believe it or not, heaven will not be populated exclusively by Sydney Anglicans!

And I, for one, am thankful to God for that.

Because I cannot wait to sing God’s praises shoulder-to-shoulder with JS Bach and Martin Luther. And marvel at the glory of the new creation alongside Rembrandt and Joni Eareckson Tada. And consider the depths of God’s grace that saved a wretch like me with John Newton and William Wilberforce. …”

– Steve Tong highlights a children’s book that’s also good for adults. At The Australian Church Record.

Why is the Ascension the most important moment in the New Testament?

In a post republished for Ascension Day, Dr Ian Paul calls us to see the importance of Christ’s Ascension:

“We might miss this because of our theological tradition, but we often miss it because of our failure to read carefully.

In Peter’s Pentecost speech, the climax of what God has done in Jesus is not the resurrection, but Jesus being ‘exalted to the right hand of God’ (Acts 2.33).

In support of this, he cites Ps 110, the most cited psalm in the NT (just pause to take that in…), with its imagery of ‘the Lord’ (messiah) taking his seat at the right hand of ‘the Lord’ (Yahweh, the God of Israel).”

– Read it all at Psephizo.

Mercy ministries: reaching the poor through social action

“I’ve found that, so often, churches don’t seriously consider the working-class communities on their doorstep unless it is in connection with social action.

Too often, our projects involve doing things for or to people, not with them. To engage with people, involve them in church life and our own lives, is harder; but that is to treat people as people. …”

– in her series on ‘Class and the Church’, Kirsten Birkett considers the place of ‘mercy ministries’ and asks what might be missing. At the Church Society blog.

King’s Birthday Conference — Monday 12th June 2023

From Two Ways Ministries:

“In May 2023, King Charles will be crowned and all will say ‘Long Live the King’.

But what does it mean? Do we want it? And why do we say it?

The topic of the King’s Birthday Conference this year will raise many issues in the Bible about kings and rulers, as well as kingdoms and our nation.

The conference will be a great time to hear Phillip and Peter Jensen teach the Bible clearly, meet with old friends and new, have a Q&A session and prayer time – all included in your registration for the in-person event at Moore Theological College, Sydney.

Archie Poulos (Head of Department of Ministry and Director of Centre for Ministry Development at Moore College) will be our chairperson for the event. …”

– See all the details here.

What constitutes Anglican identity?

“There is no doubt that the sixteenth-century Reformation changed the world. From politics and social attitudes to things like work and family life. To the art of Michelangelo, the music of J.S. Bach and the literature of Shakespeare. To those on board the Mayflower and to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies.

The face of Western culture and society over the past 500 years would have been very different without the likes of Martin Luther, John Calvin and many others.

This is certainly true of the Church of England and the way it has developed into the modern Anglican Communion. And yet today, there is great ambiguity about what constitutes true Anglican identity. Where can we turn to in order to start answering such a vexed question?

Let me suggest that we can begin our answer by turning to reconsider one of the foundational Anglican texts: The Book of Common Prayer, originally composed by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

But since the Anglican Church has a five-hundred-year history, which edition of the Prayer Book captures the true essence of Cranmer’s vision for the Church? Is it the 1549, 1552, 1559, 1604, 1662, 1928, or 1979 Prayer Book?

What I’d like to do over the next few minutes is to take us back to the historical roots of the Anglican movement. Right to the heart of the Reformation as it unfolded in England under Edward VI from 1547-1553. And with a particular focus on liturgical reform. …”

– “What constitutes Anglican identity?” In 2017, Dr Stephen Tong spoke on “Liturgy in the reign of Edward VI in 16th century England”at the Anglican Connection Conference in Dallas, Texas.

A current reminder of why this paper is very helpful:

– Two Anglican Leaders [Calvin Robinson and Chuck Collins] duke it out over what it means to be Anglican – VirtueOnline.

Portrait of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer by Gerlach Flicke.

A missed golden opportunity

David Robertson takes a look at Archbishop Welby’s sermon at last week’s Coronation:

“In the grandeur of the setting and the glory of the occasion, it was easy to think that we were being told something profound, but if you stopped to think about it there was little challenge, little to stimulate and little to point us to Christ, rather than Charles. …”

– Read it all here.

Moore College Open Week 15-19 May 2023

Moore College’s Open Week begins on Monday 15th May.

Details and registration from the College.

A theological and missional review of the Coronation – with Mark Earngey, Brett Murphy and Sandy Grant

From The Pastor’s Heart:

“After Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was probably the biggest reaching church service of our lifetimes.

We analyze the service theologically and missionally and compare it with the coronation service of Charles’ Mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Is it in any way better theologically and where is it worse?

– Watch or listen here.

See also:

The true significance of King Charles’ Coronation – Murray Campbell, who writes not only about the Coronation, but about Psalm 2, Nick Cave – and GAFCON.

Key issues in scholarship on 1 Timothy 2:8–15

“In the last few decades, there’s been an enormous amount of scholarship on the meaning and significance of 1 Timothy 2:8–15. The sheer range of interpretations can be bewildering, leading us to throw our arms in the air and declare that it’s all too hard, so we should all just do what is right in our own eyes.

This video is designed to help us to regain some clarity and perspective on the passage by giving a broad overview of the main issues. …”

– Lionel Windsor presented this seminar at the recent Priscilla & Aquila Centre conference at Moore College.

See also:

Claire Smith presented an elective on The household of God in 1 Timothy the next day at the inaugural P&A Research Conference, which is for women.

A brief guide to the Coronation Service

“The Coronation Service for each monarch is put together using set elements, some of which are legally required, and others that can modified or updated over time. The structure of the service draws on the Old Testament, and has developed over many centuries of use in England, and later the UK. The last significant overhaul, especially of the oaths, came for the coronation of William III and Mary II in 1689 …

At the coronation, he does not become king. Rather he is acknowledged as King, not by the state, but by the Church and in the eyes of God. The promises he makes are not that he will rule, but how he will rule. The service is a reminder throughout that he is only King by the will of God and with the consent of the people. He is not our ultimate authority, and he himself is subject to another king, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. …

It is notable that in the Proper Preface, Charles will be referred to as ‘the Defender of thy Faith’, not as he once hoped, ‘Defender of Faiths’.”

– At Church Society’s website, Ros Clarke provides some helpful background to the Coronation coming up this weekend.

See also the Liturgy to be used in the Coronation Service.

Image: Royal.uk.

David Livingstone brought the Gospel to my Country

“David Livingstone (1813–73) is known as a missionary, explorer, and abolitionist.

He was the first missionary to bring the gospel to my beloved country, Malawi, in 1859…”

– Confex Makhalira gives thanks to God for David Livingstone on the 150th anniversary of his death. (At The Gospel Coalition.)

Photo: David Livingstone by Thomas Annan, 1864.

Bible Time with Pre-schoolers

“I’m so thankful that my daughter is taught at pre-school by wonderfully experienced Christian teachers… so when a list of recommended Bible resources from one of those gifted and thoughtful teachers finds its way into your child’s book bag, it is something to be treasured!

I come back to this list every time I want to add to our library. Clearly, it’s far from exhaustive (there are so many good things out there) and seasoned pre-school teachers and parents will no doubt be familiar with a lot of these books, but I thought I’d share this treasured list here anyway, with a few of my own favourites added in along the way. …“

– Here’s some encouragement and practical help from Kirsten McKinlay at The Australian Church Record.

How the Original Languages can benefit the African Church

“It’s very important in our promotion of the original languages not to make people think that they cannot trust their translated versions. However, I have personally experienced the joy and value of reading the Bible in the original languages. This is something I wish for many more to experience for themselves. …”

– You don’t need to be a isiXhosa speaker ministering in Africa to appreciate reading the Greek and Hebrew texts.

Ikho Poswayo serves at George Whitefield College in Capetown.

← Previous Page — Next Page →